Due to a series of technical reasons, this year the
prize will not be awarded by a journalists’ jury as in previous years, but
by the agency afNews alone (that is by its director Gianfranco Goria). This is
a transitional phase, for the prize is due to be revised in 2004. Therefore
only two prizes are awarded for 2003, two sites having been selected out of
the seven nominations.

The
official site of the Museo del Fumetto e della Comunicazione (and
Foundation) Franco Fossati is a typical “one-man web site”, managed in
this case by the Chairman Luigi F. Bona. It offers a huge database
including creators, characters, publishers, publications etc., so it is an
extremely useful global tool not just limited to comics.

BD
oubliées is a site saving from the oblivion old French-language
comics (or in any case those no longer reprinted for various reasons) and
giving the possibility to read online, free of charge, a significant piece
of history of the European comics. An example to be followed.

-Galerie
Lambiekwww.lambiek.net
is a site worth mentioning: it contains a sort of encyclopedia of comic authors,
with descriptions and images constantly updated. A useful source of information
on who makes comics and consequently on the history of comics.

-in the same line as Bd Oubliées, Marco Barlotti’s
site "Fumetti disneyani inediti o comunque rari" www.cce.unifi.it/~marcobar/Fumetti/Rari
has the merit of keeping alive stories that Disney stamped with the ill-famed
“red seal” (unpublishable or never to be reprinted).

-Atelier
BD’s
site, a school of comics at www.atelierbd.com,
is characterised by pleasant and essential graphics functional to teaching. In
fact it is also a working aid for the school and a gathering point for the
students.

-A site literally digging into an adventure of Blake
& Mortimer set in Paris’ cellars, http://betm.lhermine.com
is the result of an exceptional research and analysis. Quite amusing, it is part
of www.lhermine.com/bd, a site totally dedicated to underground vaults
and caves in the world of (French) comics.